


A New Era

by Morrigan_337



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25323715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morrigan_337/pseuds/Morrigan_337
Summary: An old immortal returned from the past threatens to break the already fragile team. Will they rise to meet it? Or will they finally fall in the face of a new era?(Lots of Joe/Nicky, but also Andy/Quyhn and Booker/OC)
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia & Quynh | Noriko, Booker | Sebastien Le Livre & Original Female Character(s), Booker | Sebastien le Livre/Original Female Character(s), Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	1. Intro: Thief in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> A thief in the night steals something precious, will it be recovered?

Niccolo never lived apart from Yusuf.

Before the Crusades, he came from a large, poor family, where children were expected to find their own way in life. Life was something to be survived; the first battle being childhood, fighting plague and starvation to make it to adulthood. Nicky was a warrior long before the Crusades, and the choice of dying unknown in the streets or fighting for God seemed an easy one, so Niccolo continued to fight, to survive.

It wasn't until he died that he learned what it was to live.

When they finally stopped killing each other, accepting the idea that they would simply not die, Yusuf was the first to extend his hand, to help Niccolo out of the mess of dirt and blood left from their last attempt. Niccolo spoke no Arabic, and Yusuf knew three words in what served as Italian at the time, but they slowly learned to communicate with one another. With communication came trust, trust led to friendship, and friendship (and many a night spent together in search of the mysterious woman from their dreams) led to love.

Nicky truly did not know life without Joe. So when they came for them in the night, he did what he always did. He fought; this time not for survival or God, but for the love of his life, the truest cause he had ever known. And he won; Joe was safe, tasked with protecting a newly mortal Andy. But winning came with a cost, Nile and he were captured by the mysterious assailants.

The last thing he remembered as the world grew dark was not the pain of the bullets he had survived, but the loss of life as he knew it.


	2. Torn Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their family is torn apart by an unknown force.

Andy can't stop the ringing in her ears. If she had to guess, she might have a perforated eardrum as well as a minor concussion; nothing life-threatening, but after not having an injury last more than a minute for the last millennia, the little things are still a novel pain in the ass.

The ringing was also emphasized by the silence in the car traveling through Eastern Germany. Joe had not spoken since releasing his anger on the smoldering forest, decimating what the fire could not reach, and stopping only when Andy dragged him back as the fire licked at his skin. She had gotten them away from the blaze, stolen a car, and set up a meet with Copley in Leipzig to figure out what the hell just happened.

* * *

The team had been holed up in an abandoned logging mill in Prague for the past week, planning to dismantle an international sex trafficking ring that Copley had put them onto a month ago. They had been slowly picking apart their operations before making a final push to cut off the head of the organization. It was grueling work not only logistically, but emotionally; this ring was overseen by particularly vile sons of bitches who specialize in procuring children for even viler sons of bitches. Copley made arrangements for the children to be returned to their homes by local authorities, but many did not have homes to return to. It took a toll on the team to watch this, to know those children were as alone as they had all been at one point, and many a sleepless night was spent refining the plans to end the ring once and for all.

Andy was struggling on top of this to adapt to a new style of team leadership; one that involved her "quarterbacking" from the base while Nicky, Joe, and Nile went on missions. It was not in her nature to hang back and let someone else take the risk, but she couldn't risk being a liability to the team. A stab of pain darkened her thoughts, _dead weight_. She had chosen not to sleep that night, like so many others, instead training outside with her ax. Andy may be mortal now, but she could still be deadly, she could still serve a purpose on this team. _Yeah right_. Picking up speed, the cold air burned her lungs as she swung again and again, the ax becoming an extension of her body as it had been for a millennium. She moved with practiced precision, slicing through the invisible torments that kept her from sleep.

"You know if you go fast enough, you might be able to write your name." Joe's warm voice floated through the night air as his feet crunched through the snow-laden overgrowth. Andy took one final swing, lodging her ax neatly in the side of nearby spruce, savoring the satisfying splintering of wood, before dislodging it and turning her attention to Joe.

"Shouldn't you be keeping Nicky warm?" Andy knew her effort to guilt Joe into leaving her to her exercises was futile, but she wasn't in the mood for a pep talk. She knew her usefulness to the team had changed, there was no need for anyone to be naive about how long she could continue to hang back from missions before blowing her brains out.

Joe snorted at the question, "Nicky is a practically a portable space heater, my love will not grow cold in my absence. Me on the other hand," Joe made a show of rubbing his hands together against the chill, "I may freeze in this damned icicle of a city." He moved to sit on a felled tree close by Andy, open, light expression on his face. "But I can go back and get warm once you tell me why you decided to cut down trees in the middle of the night? Are we reopening the mill?"

Andy smiled despite herself, "Want to chase your dream career of being a lumberjack in Eastern Europe?"

"Not particularly," Joe chuckled, pleased at the smile on their sullen leader's face, "but Nicky looks wonderful in plaid, so I would not mind the view."

The two friends chuckled at the thought, but it was not enough to keep Andy's doubts at bay. She moved over to sit next to Joe, bumping his shoulder as she sat. The two listened to the sounds of the forest for a few moments before Andy let out a wry huff, "I might be more useful as a lumberjack then as a team leader."

"Andy-"

"No Joe," she cut him off with a wave of her hand, "I have led this team for longer than I can remember. Countless missions and I took point on them all." Andy looked up to meet Joe in the eye; she saw the sadness he tried so hard to hide. "Who am I if not a warrior? What purpose do I serve if I cannot go with you all?"

"Andy, just because you are not physically there with us does not mean we do not go into battle as a team." Joe moved to take her hand, calloused from years of war. "We need your mind, your leadership." She gripped his hand tightly, the warmth almost burning her too cold hands. "You are our spirit Andy; we cannot do this without you."

Andy smiled sadly at Joe's passionate words, "You will have to, sooner than you think."

Joe shook his head, refusing the thought. "But not today, Andromache, not today." He stood, pulling her along with him. "Now I suggest we go inside and leave the innocent trees to their growth."

Laughter hid the darker emotions, the conversations that were tabled for a later date.

Laughter was soon cut short.

* * *

She does not remember the explosion. She awoke in the aftermath of the destruction as the remains of the mill rained down around them, the shell of the structure a bright pyre in the night sky. The surrounding forest was beginning to catch fire as well. To her right, a groan from Joe as he pulled a piece of debris from his shoulder was muffled by the sounds of gunfire. She stumbled to her feet towards the entrance of the mill, ignoring Joe calling for her to wait. Through the flames, she saw a team of men dragging an unconscious Nile toward a waiting van. Nicky was holding out, firing back at the men for as long as he could until a bullet to the head took him down.

Andy made to intercept them, readying her ax but was met with a wall of bullets from a second-team moving in on her and Joe. She was sharply yanked back and watched as Joe's body fell under a hail fire of bullets. Unable to retaliate, she dragged Joe back as his body recovered. "Bravo Team, Adam and Eve secured, move out"

Andy heard the sounds of retreat and knew she had to take her chance. She reemerged around the side of the building, this time ax overhead, and launched it at the retreating soldiers. The ancient weapon cut through the air and buried itself in the back of one of the men. Andy quickly advanced, the soldiers not even attempting to stop her or help their fallen compatriot. By the time she crossed the lot, the team was fleeing the scene; the van holding Nicky and Nile had disappeared into the night.

Andy ripped the ax from the fallen soldier, flipping him over to press her arm into his windpipe. "Who do you work for?" she screamed, her voice harsh and feral. These men, these infants, had taken her family, and they would face the wrath of the Scythian warrior. The man was seemingly oblivious to the ancient power before him, twisting his jaw in a fluid motion before quickly biting down. "No, no you motherfuck-," Andy ripped at the man's jaw to no avail. "Tell me who you work for!"

Cyanide works quick, but through the froth and convulsions Andy could make out the man's dying words.

"No- nos serve electi."

* * *

The car hummed as Joe pushed it to its max speed, flying down the roads towards Leipzig. The anger was coming off him in waves, what was usually tempered by Nicky's kind and levelheaded demeanor has been unleashed at full force with his and Nile's kidnapping. Andy did feel fear, she buried that emotion long ago, but even she was unsettled by the man next to her. She knew his anger though; it was mirrored in her own. These men had dared to rip her family apart; she would annihilate them for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thanks for reading; this is my first fic ever published here, so if its a little imperfect, I apologize! Feel free to leave feedback, or let me know about any inconsistencies.  
> Chapter two is in the works!


End file.
